How to make a YouTube video ad with AI

The YouTube ad formats to know

YouTube runs several kinds of video ads. The details and lengths change over time, so check Google Ads' current specifications before you upload. For most small brands, three matter most.

• Skippable in-stream ads: play before or during videos, and viewers can skip after a few seconds. Landscape 16:9.
• Bumper ads: very short, non-skippable ads. Good for one simple message.
• Shorts ads: vertical 9:16 ads between Shorts, which look and feel like a Short.

Win the first 5 seconds

On a skippable ad, the opening has to do three things fast: show the brand or product, make a promise and give a reason to keep watching. Don't spend the first seconds on a slow logo animation.

• Show the product or the result in the first second.
• Say or show the benefit straight away: "Coffee that's ready in 30 seconds."
• Ask a question your audience cares about.
• Put your brand name or logo on screen early, so even a skipped ad does some work.

A simple structure for a 15 to 30 second ad

Most short YouTube ads follow the same shape. Plan each part as a separate scene, so you can make it as its own clip and change it on its own.

• 0 to 5 s: the hook, the product and the promise.
• 5 to 15 s: show it working, one or two scenes.
• 15 to 25 s: proof or detail, such as a feature, a review quote you are allowed to use or a guarantee.
• Last 5 s: the offer and a clear call to action, such as "Shop now at yourstore.com".

Sizes: 16:9 for in-stream, 9:16 for Shorts

Make in-stream ads in 16:9 landscape and Shorts ads in 9:16 vertical. If you want one idea to run in both places, make each scene in both sizes rather than cropping a landscape clip, which often cuts the product off. Qevio makes 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 and 4:5, plus 21:9 for a cinematic look.

How to make the clips in Qevio

Open the Video tool and describe one scene at a time: what we see, how the camera moves, the light and the mood. Attach a product photo to use it as the first frame on models that support image-to-video. Choose the length (5 to 30 seconds, depending on the model), the format and, where the model offers it, the resolution, then check the credit price before you generate.

For a polished brand look, try the Cinematic quality mode. For product close-ups where the product must stay accurate, start from a clear product photo. Download each scene as an MP4, then join them in your usual video editor and add your logo and end card.

Upload the finished video to your YouTube channel (it can be unlisted) and choose it when you build the ad in Google Ads. Qevio never posts or runs ads for you.

Example scene prompts

One prompt per scene keeps each clip focused.

• 16:9, 5 seconds. Extreme close-up of espresso pouring into a glass cup on a marble counter, steam rising, warm morning light, slow motion.
• 16:9, 10 seconds. A young professional grabs our travel mug from a kitchen counter and walks out the door, smooth tracking shot, bright and modern.
• 9:16, 10 seconds. Our running shoes hitting a wet city pavement at dawn, low angle, splashes in slow motion, energetic.
• 16:9, 5 seconds. The product centred on a clean light grey background, slow 360-degree turn, soft studio light, space on the right for a logo.

Sound, text and the end card

Many people watch YouTube with the sound on, unlike much of social media, so a voiceover or music helps. Add it in your editor. Keep on-screen text short and large, and finish with an end card that repeats the brand, the offer and the web address for a few seconds.

Pre-launch checklist

• The product and brand appear in the first 5 seconds.
• The product looks like the real one: check colours, labels and logos.
• The ad has one message and one call to action.
• Claims are true and allowed under Google's advertising policies.
• The video is in the right size for the format, with no important content cut off.
• The landing page matches the offer in the ad.

Questions

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